A hot-shooting second-half performance ignited by a 15-6 burst coming out of the break improved the St. John’s women’s basketball season-opening win streak to three games.

The Red Storm posted a 66-56 victory over visiting St. Francis (N.Y.) at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Red Storm improved to 3-0, while the Terriers dropped to 2-1 on the year.

At halftime the score was knotted at 31-31, but St. John’s built a 10-point lead midway through the second half before sealing its second consecutive home victory with a 12-1 spurt that culminated with the Red Storm up 59-41 and 6:41 remaining on the clock.

St. John’s got another career effort from sophomore Aliyyah Handford, who tallied 19 points, six rebounds and a career-high eight steals in 38 minutes of action.

Senior captain Briana Brown added three steals to the Red Storm’s defensive effort, tying her career-high, to go with 10 points, five assists and four rebounds.

Classmate Keylantra Langley was a perfect 7-for-7 from the line and finished with 12 points, while junior Amber Thompson narrowly missed her first double-double of the campaign with nine points and 12 rebounds.

St. John’s 3-0 start to the season is its best since the 2009-10 campaign when the Red Storm won its first seven games.

St. John’s wraps up a three-game homestand when the team welcomes Quinnipiac on Wednesday, Nov. 20, for a 7 p.m. contest.